Overview
International Conflict Resolution Study Abroad Program in Quito, Ecuador
The University of Georgia School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA) and the Center for Mediation, Peace, and Resolution of Conflict - International (CEMPROC) are pleased to present the International Conflict Resolution Study Abroad Program for Maymester 2008. Join us for this exciting program nestled in the beautiful Andes Mountains of Quito, Ecuador, in which you will examine international conflict from theoretical and practical perspectives, learning the root causes of conflict and potential tools for engaging in effective peacemaking. You will explore theories of war, violence, peace, environmental justice, ethnic strife, conflict over natural resources, sustainable development, ethics in peacemaking, and different approaches to resolution. Building on this theoretical base, you will be exposed to techniques, tools, and paradigms for addressing, resolving, and transforming conflict through negotiation, mediation, sustained dialogue, and other methodologies, as well as in-depth treatment of special topics and case studies.
You will have the opportunity to chat with phenomenal guest speakers who are practitioners and scholars dealing with these topics in the Latin American context. Representative guest speakers last year included:
- Yolanda Kakabadse, former Minister of the Environment for Ecuador and current president of an environmental conflict management NGO
- Randy Borman, leader of the Cofan indigenous nation in the Amazon rainforest
- Ambassador Linda Jewell and diplomats from USAID/U.S. embassy in Ecuador
- Dr. Alvaro Galindo, Ecuadorian conflict resolution scholar at Universidad San Francisco de Quito
- Michelle Arevalo-Carpenter from the Ecuadorian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- Dr. Fredy Rivera, Professor of International Relations at FLACSO
Click here to download the UGA/CEMPROC International Conflict Resolution Study Abroad in Ecuador brochure. This informative brochure contains a basic overview of the program, an outline of the academic content, and the basic logistical details, such as dates, cost, and course credits. Click here for to download the publicity poster for the International Conflict Resolution Study Abroad in Ecuador.
Dates: May 11-June 4, 2008
Cost: $2,099 + tuition, UGA technology fee, and airfare (includes weekday meals, lodging, ground transportation, etc.)
Accommodations: Students will stay in a hotel with the classroom and breakfast facilities part of the same complex (see www.hotelbaltra.com.ec). This location is within walking distance of a major mall and shopping center, the CEMPROC office, numerous shops and restaurants, the Plaza de Toros, and the largest park in Quito, where cyclists, joggers, and pick-up soccer games are very common.
Course credit: A total of 6 semester hours of credit for INTL 4610, Environmental Conflict (3 hrs) and INTL 4820, International Conflict Resolution Internship (3 hrs) will be issued by the University of Georgia. Non-UGA students should print the syllabi from the Course page and check with their home university to ensure that program credit will be accepted by transfer.
Trips:Students will take one weekend trip to the edge of the Amazon cloud forest, meeting with local communities to discuss environmental conflicts they have experienced first hand with the oil companies as well as having a chance to hike and enjoy the forest. We will travel by private van/bus and will stay in the Hosteria Cumanda in Baeza, which is situated amongst one of the largest remaining patches of primary growth forest in the region.
There will also be an optional day trip to Otavalo, which is internationally famous for its vibrant and colorful indigenous market. Here, you can just browse, or you can purchase beautiful crafts, sweaters, scarves, hats, carved wood and stone, 'vegetable ivory' sculpture, hammocks, and much more! Be sure to negotiate, applying some of the practical skills you learn.
Throughout the program, students will have sufficient free time to explore Quito and the amazing area around it. You may want to visit the equator and stand in both hemispheres at once, or take the skyline to the top of Mt. Pichincha, or visit the historic colonial plazas and churches of downtown Quito.
Instructors:Dr. Fausto Sarmiento, Associate Professor of Geography at UGA, is the Program Director. Mr. Jeff Pugh, Executive Director of the Center for Mediation, Peace, and Resolution of Conflict (CEMPROC)- International, will be the local coordinator and co-instructor. Dr. Patricia Sullivan, Assistant Professor of International Affairs, is the Associate Director and will act as the UGA supervisor for INTL internship credit. A number of guest speakers will offer additional academic and real-world enrichment, and there will be many opportunities for informal interaction with local counterparts.